The invention relates to an ultra-small cell base station for a vehicle, a method and device for operating said ultra-small cell base station and a communication system for the vehicle.
Cellular radio networks have a grouping of static radio base stations which spread a network of radio cells in order to ensure radio provision for cellular radio terminal devices. Through intelligent network planning, the greatest possible coverage of the area is achieved. The radio base stations are linked by means of a wire-bound connection, also known as backhaul, to a core network. The radio cells of the cellular radio network can have different sizes. Depending on the size thereof, the cells are designated macrocells, microcells, picocells or femtocells.
It is an object of the invention to provide an ultra-small cell base station for a vehicle, a method and a device for operating said ultra-small cell base station and a communication system for the vehicle, which enable flexible operation of more than one radio cell.
This aim is achieved by means of the features of the independent claims. Advantageous developments of the invention are disclosed in the subclaims.
According to a first aspect, the invention is characterized by an ultra-small cell base station for a vehicle. The ultra-small cell base station can be coupled, for signal exchange, to a first antenna assembly of the vehicle, which is configured and arranged to receive radio signals of at least one cellular radio user device which is situated in an interior space of the vehicle and to emit radio signals such that said signals can be received by the cellular radio user device. The ultra-small cell base station can also be coupled, for signal exchange, to a second antenna assembly of the vehicle, which is configured and arranged to receive radio signals of at least one further cellular radio user device which is situated in a pre-defined surrounding region outside the vehicle and to emit radio signals such that said signals can be received by the further cellular radio user device. The ultra-small cell base station can also be coupled, for signal exchange, to at least one network-side antenna assembly of the vehicle, which is configured and arranged to receive radio signals emitted by a pre-defined static cellular radio base station and to emit radio signals such that said signals can be received by the static cellular radio base station. The ultra-small cell base station is configured, using the first antenna assembly and the at least one network-side antenna assembly, to operate a first small cell. The ultra-small cell base station is configured, using the second antenna assembly and the at least one network-side antenna assembly and/or a further network-side antenna assembly, to operate a second small cell.
Advantageously, this enables flexible local and/or temporal adaptation of a cellular radio network capacity to an actually demanded network-covering requirement and/or data rate requirement. The ultra-small cell base station has the advantage that the first and second ultra-small cell can be operated simultaneously or temporally independently of one another.
The position of the ultra-small cell base station is not fixed, but can be readily changed. This enables highly flexible operation of the first and second small cells. This can be used, for example, if complete radio provision over the whole of an area by static cellular radio base stations does not take place for technical and/or other reasons, such as for example in private households, underground car parks, tunnels, remote locations in the countryside and the like. If the vehicle is situated in such a location, the ultra-small cell base station can operate the second small cell. This enables at least improved radio provision for this location, including for users of the cellular radio network outside the vehicle.
Furthermore, the ultra-small cell base station can be operated independently of the time-dependent demands placed on the radio provision. This ability can be utilized, for example, if a current network coverage requirement and/or a data rate requirement can be met by static cellular radio base stations for technical and/or other reasons, for example, due to daytime or nighttime demand variations and/or due to temporally and locally limited occurrences, for example, in a traffic jam where many people wish to use the radio network infrastructure simultaneously at one location. If, at this time, the vehicle is accidentally or deliberately situated in said local region, the ultra-small cell base station can operate the second ultra-small cell so that at least an improved radio provision is also made available to users outside the vehicle.
Complex adaptation of the antenna alignment and/or of a transmitting power at the static cellular radio base stations in order to provide the required network capacity can be at least partially dispensed with. Furthermore, this means that at least partially static cellular radio base stations are not necessary or can be configured with a lower power output. In this way, equipment costs and/or site rental costs can be saved.
The ultra-small cell base station can be configured, for example, as a femto base station and/or as a pico base station. For example, the ultra-small cell base station can be configured to operate the first small cell, which comprises the passenger compartment of the vehicle, as a femtocell and to operate the second small cell, which comprises a pre-defined surrounding region outside the passenger compartment of the vehicle, as a femtocell or as a picocell.
The ultra-small cell base station can be configured to operate the first and second ultra-small cell such that the first and second ultra-small cell use the same carrier frequency. Alternatively or in addition, the ultra-small cell base station can be configured to operate the first and second small cells such that the first and second small cells use different carrier frequencies. The ultra-small cell base station can be configured to operate the first and second small cells such that the first and second small cells use the same carrier frequency but different scrambling codes. The first and second small cells are preferably spatially separate or substantially spatially separate. The first ultra-small cell can enable radio coverage in the passenger compartment and the second ultra-small cell can enable radio coverage in a pre-defined surrounding region outside the vehicle.
The ultra-small cell base station can be configured such that said base station can be coupled directly, without the interconnection of a further processing device, to the at least one network-side antenna assembly. Alternatively or additionally, the ultra-small cell base station can be coupled, for signal exchange, via a communication module assigned to the ultra-small cell base station, to the at least one network-side antenna assembly. The ultra-small cell base station can be electrically coupled, via a wire-bound connection, to the communication module and the communication module can be electrically coupled to the network-side antenna assembly. In this case, the ultra-small cell base station can be configured simplified such that said base station does not have the functionality for a wireless connection to the cellular radio network via a radio interface to a network-side base station. Rather, the communication module is configured to create the wireless connection to the cellular radio network via the radio interface to the network-side base station.
The respectively pre-defined cellular radio base station which receives the radio signals from the network-side antenna assembly can change depending on the position of the ultra-small cell base station. The pre-defined static cellular radio base station is the respective cellular radio base station which is associated with a pre-defined region in which the ultra-small cell base station is currently located.
In an advantageous embodiment according to the first aspect, the ultra-small cell base station is configured, depending on a pre-defined activation signal, to operate the second small cell. Depending on the activation signal, the second small cell, which covers a pre-defined radio coverage region outside the vehicle, can be operated. The second ultra-small cell can be made available to other cellular radio users outside the vehicle or at least outside the passenger compartment for radio connection to a pre-defined cellular radio network.
In a further advantageous embodiment according to the first aspect, the ultra-small cell base station has a cable-connected interface to link the ultra-small cell base station, for signal exchange, to a cable-connected communication network outside the vehicle. Advantageously, this enables a cable-bound backhaul connection to be used and the signals received from the cellular radio terminal devices to be transmitted via the cable-bound connection to the core network and/or enables network-side signals that are to be transmitted to the cellular radio terminal devices to be transmitted from the core network, via the cable-bound connection, to the ultra-small cell base station. This can preferably be used when the vehicle is in a parked state.
In a further advantageous embodiment according to the first aspect, the ultra-small cell base station has a supply line communication interface for coupling, for signal exchange, of the ultra-small cell base station to a supply line communication network outside the vehicle. Advantageously, this enables a very simple connection of the ultra-small cell base station to the core network. A further advantage is that the reliability of operation of the ultra-small cell base station can be increased. The supply of energy to the ultra-small cell base station can be carried out by means of an energy store of the vehicle. By linking to the energy store of the vehicle, preferably an electric vehicle and/or hybrid vehicle, the energy supply to the ultra-small cell base station can be assured, even during long parked periods. Advantageously, the linking of the ultra-small cell base station for signal exchange and the energy-supplying coupling of the energy store to the supply network can be carried out via one coupling unit, for example, by means of a charging cable or by means of an inductive coupling.
According to a second and third aspect, the invention is characterized by a method and a corresponding device for operating the ultra-small cell base station according to the first aspect. Herein, at least one pre-defined operating variable of the vehicle is determined and/or at least one pre-defined network operating variable of a pre-defined cellular radio network to which the ultra-small cell can be coupled for signal exchange. Depending on the at least one operating variable of the vehicle and/or the at least one network operating variable, the activation signal is generated and transmitted to the ultra-small cell base station.
Advantageous embodiments of the first aspect apply also to the second and third aspect. Advantageously, the operation of the second ultra-small cell can thus be controlled by the ultra-small cell base station depending on the at least one determined operating variable and/or on the at least one network operating variable, and can thus be easily adapted to a prevailing demand.
In an advantageous embodiment according to the second and third aspect, the pre-defined operating variable represents a current position of the vehicle and/or of the ultra-small cell base station and/or an operating state of the vehicle. Advantageously, the operation of the second ultra-small cell can thus be controlled by the ultra-small cell base station depending on a current position and/or a current operating state of the vehicle.
In an advantageous embodiment according to the second and third aspects, depending on a pre-defined request message sent from outside the vehicle for the ultra-small cell base station, the activation signal is generated and transmitted to the ultra-small cell base station. Advantageously, this enables easy control of the operation of the second small cell. The second ultra-small cell can thus be activated and operated depending, for example, on a radio coverage requirement determined by a cellular radio operator. The request message can comprise, for example, network operating variables measured and/or determined by a network operator. The activation signal can be generated depending on a network operating variable of this type.
In a further advantageous embodiment of the second and third aspect, when a pre-defined activation condition for the ultra-small cell base station qualifies as being fulfilled, a pre-defined readiness message is transmitted to a central control system of a pre-defined cellular radio network operator and, depending on a request message received in response to the transmitted readiness message, the activation signal is generated and transmitted to the ultra-small cell base station. The activation condition can comprise, for example, a pre-defined function key setting in the vehicle. Advantageously, this can be used by, for example, a vehicle user to clear the operation of the second ultra-small cell for a network operation of the cellular radio network operator.
In a further advantageous embodiment according to the second and third aspect, the readiness message comprises information concerning a current position of the ultra-small cell base station. This advantageously enables easy control of an operation of the second ultra-small cell by the pre-defined cellular radio network operator.
According to a fourth aspect, the invention is characterized by a communication system for a vehicle. The communication system comprises an ultra-small cell base station according to the first aspect arranged in the vehicle. The communication system also comprises a first antenna assembly which is arranged in the vehicle and is configured and arranged to receive radio signals of at least one cellular radio user device which is situated in an interior space of the vehicle and to emit radio signals such that said signals can be received by the cellular radio user device. The communication system also comprises a second antenna assembly arranged at the vehicle, which is configured and arranged to receive radio signals of at least one further cellular radio user device situated in a pre-defined surrounding region outside the vehicle and to emit radio signals such that said signals can be received by the further cellular radio user device. The communication system also comprises at least one network-side antenna assembly arranged at the vehicle which is configured and arranged to receive radio signals transmitted by a pre-defined static cellular radio base station and to emit radio signals such that said signals can be received by the static cellular radio base station. The ultra-small cell base station is coupled, for signal exchange, to the first, the second and the network-side antenna assembly.
The coupling, for signal exchange, of the ultra-small cell base station to the first and second antenna assembly advantageously enables the first and second small cells to be easily operated by the ultra-small cell base station simultaneously or chronologically independently of one another. Advantageous embodiments of the first aspect apply also to the fourth aspect.
In an advantageous embodiment of the fourth aspect, the communication system comprises a device according to the third aspect, wherein the at least one device is coupled, for signal exchange, to the ultra-small cell base station. Advantageous embodiments of the third aspect apply also to the fourth aspect.
In a further advantageous embodiment according to the fourth aspect, an energy supply of the ultra-small cell base station is controllable depending on a detected operating state and/or a parked state of the vehicle.
In a further advantageous embodiment according to the fourth aspect, the cable-connected interface of the ultra-small cell base station can be coupled to the cable-connected communication network outside the vehicle, depending on a detected operating state and/or a detected parked state of the vehicle.
Exemplary embodiments of the invention will now be described by reference to the schematic drawings, in which: